South Africa: Mandela's memory celebrated, her social heritage under debate

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Text by: RFI Follow

Thirty years ago in South Africa, prisoner number 46664 (the 466th prisoner imprisoned in 1964), was released. A tribute ceremony was organized Tuesday, February 11, at the town hall of Cape Town, at the same place where "Madiba" gave his first speech upon his release from prison. A small crowd of anonymous and former comrades in wrestling came to hear President Cyril Ramaphosa remember this historic day.

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With our correspondent in Cape Town, Claire Bargelès

On the forecourt, protecting themselves from the sun with their exercise books, hundreds of schoolchildren and high school students in uniform were gathered to follow the ceremony. Cyril Ramaphosa, who at the time held the microphone for Nelson Mandela's speech, is now the one we listen to:

“ It was the day we were able to touch our future with our hearts and our hopes. And it didn't happen thanks to the kindness of Frederik de Klerk's heart, no, but thanks to the pressure that the citizens of our country exerted. "

► Read also: 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela came out of prison

Madeniyah was there 30 years ago. She remembers that Mandela could have called for revenge, but he chose reconciliation: “ We were students, I was 16 years old. Yes, there were compromises, that is the nature of the negotiations. But the cost of a civil war would have been far too high for our country. "

Some young people, now angry at unemployment which is hitting them hard, do not hesitate to criticize the legacy of Nelson Mandela, accused of having sold the country to the white minority. Zandi, a 25-year-old student, constantly has these debates with her friends: “ I don't think we can criticize him because he fought so hard for us. However, I do not think his legacy has been perpetuated. For example, poverty is still very important. The issues he fought for are still problematic. "

Six years after his death, the hero of the nation has in any case left a void among the crowd gathered here to continue his legacy.

#MandelaReturns https://t.co/fmayYyjjiH

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• South Africa
• Nelson Mandela
• Cyril Ramaphosa

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